Quality of deliverables

While most of the topics covered here apply to almost any outsourcing situation,
this book is written primarily for technology professionals; it specifically
caters to those working in small- to medium-size companies or in the technology
trenches of large organizations.
If startups or small- to medium-size companies are your world, you most
likely need outside help either to grow your firm quickly or to get a product
off the ground fast, or just to add the short-term or specialist expertise you
need at a critical juncture.

The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) follows on from the Implementation Schedule and provides the detail
behind each key activity showing tasks, deliverables and allocated resources including staff. WBSs vary
depending on the complexity and type of project undertaken. There is no single format that must be adopted,
as long as there is a clear line of sight between the Implementation Schedule, scope and WBS. For complex
projects, a WBS will extend over many pages.

Ensure you understand the project vision and spend time documenting and determining the project
objectives. Produce a project plan document that describes the test system deliverables. It is a good
idea to document what is in scope as well as out of scope for absolute clarity. Verify the content of this
document with the key stakeholder, spending time to walk them through it, and ask them to sign off on
it. You should plan for some degree of scope creep in most projects; therefore, it is important to design
a process to manage these changes. You can then implement a...